West Coast Mainline Avanti cancellations 13/03/22

[sbf kent]

Currently on an Avanti service from Glasgow to Euston 10.38. Train is only 9 carriages. It was standing from Glasgow as a result of the Transpennine strike and Avanti cancellation. The train manager is threatening to cancel the service. I just do not understand why the train is only 9 carriages not 11. Why it has not run fast cutting out stations. There is a London via Birmingham New Street 10 minutes behind. If this is the way to get passengers back to rail there's no hope.

 

[sbf kent]

I think a lot of people on this train and left standing on platforms are anti Avanti just now

 

[route101]

Are the services from Glasgow to Birmingham back yet? I thought there was usually a few 9 carriage class 390s on the route every day.

 

[Watershed]

Are the services from Glasgow to Birmingham back yet? I thought there was usually a few 9 carriage class 390s on the route every day.

Nope, they're still running a notably reduced timetable. No Chester (let alone N Wales) service in most hours, 2tph vice 3tph to Birmingham and Manchester, and the former 1tp2h to Glasgow via Birmingham has been curtailed to Blackpool North/Preston.

 

[Furrball]

Avanti reporting minor issues but only 1 of the 5 scheduled EUS GLC services is planned to run for the rest of the day

 

[irish_rail]

I've also experienced 9 car full and standing avanti trains lately on the busy routes (Liverpool and Glasgow), whilst passing half empty 11 cars on the Manchester and Birmingham. Very frustrating, particularly unforgivable on the Scottish stuff.

 

[sbf kent]

And there is engineering work on the East Coast and no Lumo services today. So much for national capacity planning.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

There is a massive issue with overcrowding on the WCML all day every Sunday, wether it's Scotland/Preston/MKC/Euston.

Most of the time it's purely down to the sheer amount of leisure travellers there are currently who travel on Friday or Saturday and then all return on Sunday.

No TOC is running 100% service and capacity as the DfT have told them not to (80% for cost cutting), it's a very difficult situation at the moment and hopefully there is scope in May or Dec timetables to plan for this change in how public are using trains. I won't hold my breath, but I know exec at my TOC is trying to change it long term (whether us train crew agree or not is another question)

 

[Pep and co]

1447 Liv-Eus cancelled. Next one is 1547. No doubt this will be standing room only on departure as happens when they try to jam two trains worth of passengers on to one train. RTT currently have it booked as 390152 which is at least an eleven car. Presumably 390131 which is currently at the platform will run empty due to staffing issues?

 

[STINT47]

I think the railway needs to change to reflect that Weekends and Friday afternoon are now the new peaks.

All trains should be out running at these times with train maintenance and engineering work done in the week. Staff will also have to adjust their rotas to be rostered more at Weekends with increased rest days in the week.

Some of this may not be popular but the world has changed and the railway needs to change with it or risk becoming obsolete.

On a more positive note HS2 should solve WCML overcrowding in a few years time.

 

[Furrball]

From Twitter

https://twitter.com/NicBuz12/status/1503019847478882308

@AvantiWestCoast
stuck at London Euston with autistic child due to cancelled trains. Stampedes to get Edinburgh train then Refusal to leave due to being unsafe as too many on the train. No help to get another train. So disappointed in the train services again!!!

Assume 1437 service which left 9 late

 

[LOL The Irony]

Avanti reporting minor issues but only 1 of the 5 scheduled EUS GLC services is planned to run for the rest of the day

How is only a 5th of your flagship service running a "minor issue"? The fares rise and then the passengers don't even get a service. These railway lot need to get their act together or they'll find lots of them won't have a job tomorrow.

 

[Furrball]

How is only a 5th of your flagship service running a "minor issue"? The fares rise and then the passengers don't even get a service. These railway lot need to get their act together or they'll find lots of them won't have a job tomorrow.

Indeed, and the final service is one of those cancelled ...

At least Sunday night tends to be quieter for hotels in London....

 

[SCDR_WMR]

I think the railway needs to change to reflect that Weekends and Friday afternoon are now the new peaks.

All trains should be out running at these times with train maintenance and engineering work done in the week. Staff will also have to adjust their rotas to be rostered more at Weekends with increased rest days in the week.

Some of this may not be popular but the world has changed and the railway needs to change with it or risk becoming obsolete.

On a more positive note HS2 should solve WCML overcrowding in a few years time.

I think it's safe to say the railway know it needs to make these changes, but they won't be quick and they will be costly too. Train crew will not give in easily given the pay freezes and cost cutting measures in place that impact them already

 

[muz379]

Staff will also have to adjust their rotas to be rostered more at Weekends with increased rest days in the week.

That won't come cheap in the current climate of industrial relations .

 

[sbf kent]

Meanwhile the customers are expected to pay more and put up with this. That is not sustainable. Covid has radically changed working arrangements and personal ones. Surely some kind or degree of change is needed. Oh well the train will be two minutes early into Euston. All is well.

 

[Pep and co]

As predicted 1547 Liv-Eus absolutely wedged. Downgraded two standard premium coaches before arrival at Runcorn. Still Crewe and Stafford to call at...

 

[Bertie the bus]

I think it's safe to say the railway know it needs to make these changes, but they won't be quick and they will be costly too. Train crew will not give in easily given the pay freezes and cost cutting measures in place that impact them already

Won’t come quickly means it will never happen unless the railway and its workers have it forced on them. How many TOCs are still reliant on RDW to operate the base timetable because that is how BR operated when the pay was nowhere near what it is now and more jumped at the chance of getting overtime?

 

[STINT47]

It's not just the WCML that has issues.

I've made a Nottingham to Loughborough return journey today on the MML. Both services were 10 car 222s and had people standing in standard.

I'm glad I don't have to travel long distance anymore.

 

[Carlisle]

Train crew will not give in easily given the pay freezes and cost cutting measures in place that impact them already

Whilst appreciating most pay & commission rates aren’t currently improving, have any TOC staff had pay cuts or redundancies imposed, apart from the poor old catering contractors on SWR.?

 

[FuzzyDuck]

At this point in time, of the 7 Glasgow-Euston Avanti services scheduled today, 5 are running. So not quite as bad as suggested early in this thread.

 

[Vespa]

I have to say seeing this, I'm glad I came home yesterday instead of today, LNWR Euston to Crewe then Avanti Crewe to Liverpool, not too busy at all.

 

[voyagerdude220]

At this point in time, of the 7 Glasgow-Euston Avanti services scheduled today, 5 are running. So not quite as bad as suggested early in this thread.

But several London to Glasgow services this afternoon have been either cancelled throughout or started from/terminated at Preston today.

Also as the OP mentioned- I do get the overwhelming impression that Avanti (and previously Virgin) have a tendency to allocate alot of 9car Pendolinos to services between Scotland and London and vice versa. It's by no means unknown.

On Friday 11th I noticed that 11:30/12:30/12:43/13:30 Euston to Scotland departures were all 9cars..

Whilst 11:20/11:40/12:20/12:40 Euston to Manchester services were all 11 car Pendolinos.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

I think the railway needs to change to reflect that Weekends and Friday afternoon are now the new peaks.

All trains should be out running at these times with train maintenance and engineering work done in the week. Staff will also have to adjust their rotas to be rostered more at Weekends with increased rest days in the week.

Some of this may not be popular but the world has changed and the railway needs to change with it or risk becoming obsolete.

On a more positive note HS2 should solve WCML overcrowding in a few years time.

I think the railway needs to change The railway has to change...

What is needed is industry leaders to step upto the mark and start setting out a vision of how the railway needs to change to adapt to the new environment it find itself in and how that is essential for the survival (and thus jobs). However, i see TOC MDs keeping their heads down just responding to DofT and focusing on delivering that and making sure they earn the performance bonus. Haines probably has the ability to do this and maybe behind closed doors he is doing so but until GBR is established can't see the industry making any headway in dealing with this necessity. Implementing such a dramatic change to the way the industry runs itself will also take many years to implement with no doubt a few disputes on the way. Of course currently we are in this phony situation with DofT propping up the industry to the tune of £300m/month (based on latest DofT data on ERMA payments) and if this support is withdrawn there will be only one outcome so the industry needs to get ahead of the DofT.

 

[Peter0124]

Ridiculous that there has been no Euston to Glasgow direct train since the 13:24 (which in itself got cancelled at Preston). Only the 17:29 seems to be running this evening. Does anyone know why there are so many cancellations? I thought self isolation was scrapped in England?

I note some of the Euston to Glasgow's have started at Preston instead. Eg the 15:23 Euston to Glasgow starting Preston 18:42, using the same unit off the 13:24 according to RTT

 

[Furrball]

At this point in time, of the 7 Glasgow-Euston Avanti services scheduled today, 5 are running. So not quite as bad as suggested early in this thread.

Nothing left Euston for Glasgow since the 1219, that's pretty bad

The last Euston Glasgow service is also cancelled...


My girlfriend was booked on the 1623. We made contingency plans and booked her on to the sleeper ...

In the end she is on the 1729 which seems to be not to crowded, possibly benefited by the 1734 Preston service also being available

Will message Caledonian Sleeper shortly to advise that the berth is not needed and whilst we cannot get any money back it may benefit someone who was meant to be on the last Avanti train

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Mar 2022 ==

Ridiculous that there has been no Euston to Glasgow direct train since the 13:24 (which in itself got cancelled at Preston). Only the 17:29 seems to be running this evening. Does anyone know why there are so many cancellations? I thought self isolation was scrapped in England?

I note some of the Euston to Glasgow's have started at Preston instead. Eg the 15:23 Euston to Glasgow starting Preston 18:42, using the same unit off the 13:24 according to RTT

Avanti social media saying staff shortage.

 

[Scotrail314209]

In the end she is on the 1729 which seems to be not to crowded, possibly benefited by the 1734 Preston service also being available

Good that she's on the 1729, the 1734 is full and standing.

It has been an absolute joke on Euston - Scotland today, not helped by the diversions via the West Midlands.

The Twitter feed is full of angry passengers complaining about standing, with one tweet even showing people standing in the interconnecting gangway. Surely that's a safety issue?

https://twitter.com/littleninja159/status/1503063610372677635

@AvantiWestCoast
thought I had reserved seating on your train but turns out that I'm having to spend over an hour standing in the bit between carriages feeling sick because your train is so packed.

^Link to said Tweet

 

[Furrball]

The Avanti social media team do not really seem to have been on the ball today

There is at least one who by some of their replies probably should not be in the role ...

 

[43055]

It's not just the WCML that has issues.

I've made a Nottingham to Loughborough return journey today on the MML. Both services were 10 car 222s and had people standing in standard.

I'm glad I don't have to travel long distance anymore.

Every time I have used the MML on a Sunday afternoon it has been full and standing.

The Twitter feed is full of angry passengers complaining about standing, with one tweet even showing people standing in the interconnecting gangway. Surely that's a safety issue?

https://twitter.com/littleninja159/status/1503063610372677635

^Link to said Tweet

Went from Derby to London standing between two coaches once. Not a pleasant experience and couldn't move into any of the adjacent coaches as it was that full.

 

[Furrball]

In more joined up thinking....

1523 EUS - GLC cancelled between EUS & PRE and timed to leave Preston at 18:42 - Common sense may have been to hold it pending arrival of of 15:38 EUS - PRE at 18:53

Nope, send it - next service to Glasgow is 20:41 (19:41 cancelled)